By measuring objects you can get information about distances and angles between objects. Measuring leaves no marks on the drawing and serves to orient you about the dimensions in a drawing. You can also measure objects for which dimensions have been created.
You can measure either single object (single-object measuring) or distances or angles between two objects (associative measuring). You can measure the distance between two objects or control points, the horizontal and vertical offset distances between two objects or points as projected along the coordinate axes, as well as angles, radii and diameters. Measuring can take place in layout, print, bridges, and counterplate drawings.
Measuring the distance between two lines is possible only for parallel lines. Clicking consecutively any two non-parallel lines — but not their control points — measures the angle between the lines or their imaginary projections. You can measure the distances between all control points of the two chosen lines. Besides direct distances, you can measure also the horizontal (Dx) and vertical (Dy) offset distances between the objects or points as projected along the x-axis and y-axis, respectively.
In some cases there may be several ways of measuring the same set of objects. For instance, if you are measuring the distance between a circle and a (control) point, you can measure the distance between the center of the circle and the point, between the nearest tangent to the circumference or between the point or between the farthest tangent to the circumference and the point, depending on the type of the two objects. In such cases, to switch between the various ways of measuring, press CTRL after you click the reference object, and then point to the next one.
During measuring, a contextual edit bar appears above the graphical area, showing the distance, the radius, or the angle being measured.